Chronicles of the Exiled, Genesis
by Insanity-is-Freedom
Summary: Eren lives in the small town of Shiganshina, but peace doesn't seem to suit him and he ventures in the city of criminals, Oz. It is there that he and his friend Levi start their journey towards exile with Titans, pollution and humanity against them. Future AU (as in far future), Ereri, rated T for violence, the story has more to it than the summary.
1. Prologue

**Hello all! This my first fic for my favorite-anime-of-all-times Shingeki no Kyojin/Attack on Titan so it might not be very good but I'll do my best. To those who have read my Harry Potter stories, I know I'm awful and mean and that I should be updating my on-going stories but I just don't have any inspiration for it at the moment. I left a note on my profile that explains why.**

**Back to the actual fanfiction. It takes place in the future and if the story line is followed sometimes, I've changed it quite a bit, especially at the beginning. I will go back to the cannon story for a while but since the series aren't finished I'll be inventing quite a bit.  
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**I know myself so I'm warning you now: this fic may never reach its end. I tend to have periods where I'm super motivated to write and then completely abandon it. I do however have an actual plot and a detailed idea of where I'm going so this might just my first multi-chapter story to end ^^  
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**Warnings are the usual, I don't own anything, etc, etc...You all know it, so I'll skip.**

**I hope you enjoy reading and would love reviews ^^**

* * *

_Throughout the __twentieth__ and twenty first century, industries polluted the environment until Earth was no longer hospitable to the human race. During the twenty second century, humanity had to face countless new diseases, most of which came from the inhalation of toxic fumes. Gradually, the air became so polluted that it was no longer possible to breathe without protection. So that one wouldn't die in a matter of minutes, humans had to wear oxygen masks at all times. Just as the second half of the twenty third century started, humanity came up with a plan to preserve what was left of it. By the time the twenty fourth century began, three cities had been built. Those gigantic buildings, whose purpose was to protect those living inside them, were built in a triangle. Sina had been built against a mountain and was the safest. Roze came next and Maria faced all dangers bravely. _

_People did not hesitate to abandon their homes and move inside the walls of the Three Sisters. They had been built in a tower-like shape with three floors in each city. The ground floor was the largest and the poorest. The first floor was smaller and the topmost floor was the smallest of all, as well as the richest. Each floor was divided in districts._

_Social differences were never abolished and were clear in the disposition of the cities. In each city, the ground floor was dedicated to agriculture, the first was where merchants settled and the second was home to the richest people of the city. There was also a difference of population between cities. Maria was poor and the richest inhabitants of Maria were poorer than the poorest of Roze. Roze was in the middle and Sina, which was the city chosen by royalty, was at the top. _

_Despite the inequality, humans were glad to live in the Walls. They had a fake sky over their heads, clean water to drink and fresh air to breathe. But this came with a price. Humanity had given their freedom in order to survive, for no one could leave the Walls. The cities were Cages. _

_There was only a handful of people allowed to leave the Walls. They were a part of the Military Force, a group called the Survey Corp. They were soldiers and scientists who were specially equipped to leave on journeys outside the Cages in order to bring back information and data on the world outside. But it was common knowledge that not many came back from those trips, though few knew why._


	2. Disillusioned Child - part 1

As a young man, Grisha Jaeger had been considered smarter than most and had been gifted with an insatiable curiosity for the world beyond the walls. He studied in Sina and became an accomplished scientist and doctor. He had had a bright future ahead of him, as one of the elite of Sina but he cast it all away in favour of enrolling in the Military and eventually joining the Survey Corp. During his time as a soldier he learned many secrets and developed many fears. He was thirty when he left the Survey Corp. With the weight of the knowledge he had acquired on his shoulders he sought to start anew and thus left the prosper Sina for the fertile Maria.

He settled in the modest Shiganshina district as the local doctor. Thanks to his position he became quickly acquainted with the villagers and their ways. The simplicity of their lives was new to him who had spent the majority of his life amongst nobles or in the soldiers' barracks. He liked it though. It enabled him to momentarily forget about the intensity of the past years, the secrets, the suffering, everything. Instead he worried about what he should make for dinner, what the weather would be like tomorrow and all those things which worrying over might appear meaningless but were to him a luxury.

Amongst his regular patients was Mr Arlert. The old man despite nearing the seventies, was in perfect health and as he wanted to remain so, he went to consult regularly. Of course, it would be a waste to go all the way to the doctor's and not have a nice chat with the man in question. The two men soon became good friends and were to remain so for many years to come.

Grisha met Carla three months after his arrival. She was younger than him by four years and didn't have any particular health issues. When she first came to him, it was to mend her arm, which she had broken after a rather spectacular fall down the stairs. While Grisha was busying himself over the young woman's arm, she filled the silence with polite conversation. As he listened to her speak casually despite her pain, Grisha came to the conclusion that she was a strong woman. He found himself admiring that strength and suddenly paid greater attention to her. He found her long brown hair tied back in a practical tail, lovely. Her brown eyes exuded warmth and even her calloused hands only served to make her more beautiful.

He could not say exactly when he had fallen in love with Carla but he found himself looking forward to seeing her calm smile as she entered his office. When no one else was waiting to see him, he would take more time than needed to examine her arm so that he could be with her a few minutes longer. More often than not they would talk for a while after he had finished examining her.

On the day he announced her arm was completely healed, he asked her to marry him. She smiled gently and nodded. Their wedding was a happy one. Though the ceremony had been modest, a lot of Grisha's patients had come to give their congratulations to the couple and the atmosphere was thus quite merry. After their marriage, Grisha and Carla moved into a small white house near the doctor's office.

A year later, Carla gave birth to their first child. As he held the small brown haired boy in his arms Grisha felt certain that his decision to leave the Survey Corp had been right. When the new-born opened his blue-green eyes and gave a delisted cry, Grisha forgot all about the military and focused on the happiness he felt gazing at his small family.

Baby Eren had been replaced by a healthy four year old when the epidemic broke out in Maria's lower floors. Grisha was busier than ever before as he had to tend to countless sick people from early morning to very late at night. Taking care of Eren was entrusted to Carla who went about the situation in her usual calm demeanour. She kept a close watch on her child and seldom let him out of the house. Though she did not show it, she feared the mysterious disease that plagued the neighbouring districts as well as their own. Fortunately, Eren was a rather understanding child and didn't make any attempt at leaving the house on his own. Instead, he spent hours watching out the window, looking fixedly upwards, nose practically touching the glass. Unbeknownst to his mother Eren was watching out for birds. The winged animals had become quite rare after humanity had come in the Cages. Eren had only ever seen one: a completely black bird who had given a nostalgic caw before extending his wings and flying off in the fake sky. Eren had kept an eye out for birds ever since.

One evening, as the little family was sitting at the table eating dinner, loud banging came from the door. Grisha was immediately on his feet. He opened the door and exchanged a few quick sentences with the visitor. He then grabbed his coat and went to kiss his frowning wife's cheek.

"Hannes' wife has fallen ill." He told her simply before disappearing into the night banging the door shut behind him.

Carla stayed still for a moment before turning away from the door and chasing the worry away from her eyes.

"Well, let's finish eating without Dad then." She told her son lightly.

Eren nodded gravely which made his mother smile. The little boy was not very talkative. He seldom spoke but when he did he sounded older. She knew that while he didn't communicate much he was always very attentive to what was said and what was not. He was often deep in thoughts and sometimes he would ask a question about how the world worked. Carla was very proud of how intelligent her son was.

In the days that followed, Grisha was rarely home. He spent hours tending to Hannes' wife and when he came home he would be pale and visibly drained of energy. He would look feverishly at his wife and son, a deep fear in his gaze. Carla, as any dutiful wife, would gently make him sit at the table and serve him dinner. Once he was done eating she sent to wash and sleep.

This carried on for nearly two weeks, until Grisha came home one evening announcing that Hannes' wife was better. He didn't look as happy as one could have expected. He was ashen-faced and had bags under his eyes. Though he smiled when his wife applauded his success and rejoiced at her the woman's good health, he appeared more worried than ever.

Soon after, the epidemic ended and Dr Jaeger started a mysterious research which would often lead him to Roze and Sina for days on end. Carla, if she was unhappy about her husband's absences, didn't show it. She continued raising her son as she always had, never complaining and never faltering.


	3. Disillusioned Child - part 2

Eren was sitting in his favorite spot by the small canal in the Northern part of the town. The boy was feeling rather bored. He had spent the last months getting re-acquainted with the town after being forced to stay at home the previous year. After all traces of the epidemic had gone, his mother had finally allowed him to venture outside the house. He had thus explored every street of the small town until he knew his way around better than anybody else. Now, though, there was nothing for him to do anymore. If his mother let him run around the town as he pleased she had set the limits there. He wasn't allowed to go any further than the last house on each side of the town. She had promised that when he was a bit older he would be able to go as far as the woods on the East. The South was eternally closed to him though. His mother had told him that it was a place of great evil in which he should never venture.

He picked up a pebble and threw it lazily in the water.

A group of children ran by on the other side of the canal, laughing and cheering. The brown haired boy watched them go longingly. He wouldn't be so bored if he had friends with whom he could play. But the other children disliked him. They would make fun of him and call him names, then they would shout 'monster' at him and run away squealing and laughing. It was because of his eyes. Even though Carla and the grown-ups always told him he had very beautiful eyes, the other children were scared of them. A girl who lived in his neighborhood had told him once that it was creepy how the color of his eyes kept changing. Normally his eyes were turquoise, not quite blue but not quite green either, but when he was sad they would become greener and when he was angry they turned to a shade of gold.

He couldn't help it, couldn't control it, so he was alone. He noticed a pebble by his foot and kicked it. He watched as the little piece of stone rolled all the way into the water.

Sea green eyes turned to the fake sky over head. He had learned recently that the sky he could see was in fact no more than a giant screen showing pictures of the real sky. His father had started teaching him about the world when he wasn't away on business. Eren loved learning about the world. Especially the one beyond the walls. Unfortunately, Grisha was away most of the time so Eren didn't know much yet. Being the impatient little boy he was, Eren had decided that if Grisha wasn't there to teach him, he would teach himself. So he had started learning how to read in the hope that he could read about the outside world in his father's books. Every night he sat at the dinner table with his mother and struggled with the letters, trying to make sense of the lines of signs of the worn pages. He wasn't very good at it but he was becoming better every day. It was just a matter of time until he could read the books.

His eyes shone turquoise with his new found resolve.

He got up to his feet, deciding that since nothing else to do he might as well practice his reading. His mother would be busy with chores but he could start on his own and try to decipher a few lines. It couldn't hurt to at least try.

He turned his back on the canal and started walking towards his house. He decided to avoid the town center which would be crowded as it was a market day. Going round it was a bit longer but at least he wouldn't be pushed around by the shoppers.

* * *

He was halfway to his house when he saw a group of children. He stopped in his track analyzing the situation from a distance. A blonde boy which seemed to be his age was circled by a group of children that he knew well enough. He had run into them a few times only to be mocked and insulted. The group was composed of older boys and girls who liked to 'act tough' as Mr. Hannes liked to say. Eren didn't really like them and the feeling was visibly mutual.

The blue-green eyes fixed themselves on the blue eyed boy who had been pushed against a wall. He seemed terrified. His face was bent down, so that his long blond hair hid his expression from view, but the way he clutched his book to his chest until his fingers became white showed that he was scared. Eren wouldn't be surprised to see tears running down the blonde's cheeks.

The other children were wearing scornful expressions and though he couldn't hear them, the brown haired boy knew their words were not kind.

When the biggest boy of the group raised his fist to hit the smallish blonde, Eren ran forward without thinking.

"Stop it!" he shouted.

He successfully caught the bullies' attention as they all looked up to look at him. The blonde boy also looked up, his wide with surprise and hope.

"It's Eren." said one of the girls.

Her vice had held much disgust but Eren could tell that behind the brave front there was a hint of fear. Not that Eren was especially powerful but the other children were so unsettled by his eyes that there had been rumors he was able to use magic. The stupid girl probably believed those.

"What do you want?" spat the boy whose fist was still raised menacingly.

"Leave him alone." snapped Eren as he stopped in front of them.

His turquoise eyes were flashing brightly as he held the older boy's gaze. Some of the children started squirming under the intensity of his gaze. The boy who had been threatening the blonde child and who seemed to be the leader stepped towards Eren.

"Why should I listen to you?" he asked with bravado.

Eren didn't answer opting for continuing to glare at him. The silent treatment didn't please the taller boy and he growled angrily as he raised his fist once again. This time there was no one to stop him and his fist made contact with Eren's cheek. The impact made the brown haired boy stumble backwards and he fell to the ground. For a moment his eyes were hidden behind his brown locks. When he straightened himself to glare at the one who had hit him, his eyes had taken a golden color. One of the girls shrieked and the other started coaxing their leader to stop there for the day.

The tall boy finally turned away with reluctance and followed his group as they hurried away.

Eren didn't move from where he sat, on the stone pavement, until the group had disappeared at the corner.

"A-Are you all right?" asked a shaky voice on his left.

He turned his head to the side and gazed at the blonde boy who had been pushed against the wall. The shorter boy had left his spot and come to stand by his side, even extending his hand to help Eren up.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Thanks." he said grabbing the blonde's hand and heaving himself up.

"Th-Thanks for helping me." added the shorter boy, his voice still shaky.

"No problem. I'm Eren, what's your name?"

"Armin. Armin Arlert." replied the blonde relaxing a little bit. "I just moved here to live with my grandfather."

"I see. I take it you don't know the town very well, yet. Would you like me to show you around?" asked Eren, hope shining in his turquoise eyes.

The blonde opened eyes as wide as saucepans before beaming at the brown haired boy.

"I would love that!" he exclaimed enthusiastically.

The bright smile on Armin's face warmed Eren's heart and he smiled back.

As the two of them started walking away chatting animatedly, Eren felt a part of himself become giddy with happiness at the idea that he had just made his first ever friend. However another, admittedly smaller part was growing darker. Anger and pain mixed to form a dark determination. _I'll become stronger, a lot stronger, and then…_


	4. Disillusioned Child - part 3

In just about three months, Eren and Armin had become inseparable. It hadn't taken long after their first meeting, for Eren to realize that Armin was a very smart child. The blonde's grandfather had been a teacher before he retired and was very knowledgeable. Before he met the old man, Eren never knew about the 'schools' in which children from Roze and Sina learned how to read, write and a lot of other useful things. There were no such things in Maria as people were too poor to invest in their children's education. Schooling was done by the parents, tutors when the parents could afford it or, in most cases, not at all. Eren himself had learnt a little through his father but was mostly ignorant as the man was rarely there.

Upon Eren's request the old man had agreed to teach the two boys when Grisha wasn't there. Thanks to Mr. Arlert's patient tutoring, Eren's reading improved drastically in just a few months. Armin who already knew how to read also helped him. Once Eren was able to read sufficiently well, they had moved on to writing and calculations. If writing was going well, calculating wasn't Eren's forte. Armin who seemed at ease with any exercise Mr. Arlert gave them was doing very well in it. However, being useless with numbers didn't bother Eren in the least for what he was truly interested in was history. He loved learning about the world before the walls the most. He would listen to Mr. Arlert's stories of the past completely enraptured.

Armin shared his interest in the outside world and the two of them would spend long hours talking about the mysteries of the world beyond. Often they would sit by the canal and talk about the 'seas' and 'oceans' Mr. Arlert had told them about. From what the old man had said they were wide surfaces covered in salty water. Though neither boy knew what salt tasted like, spices being generally very expensive, they agreed that such things as 'seas' and 'oceans' were extremely impressive. They also dreamt of the 'mountains', which were supposed to be giant piles of rock, some of them even having liquid fire inside of them. What fascinated Eren the most was the sky. The old teacher had told him that the sky outside was endless.

A sky without end proved to be difficult to imagine for the turquoise eyed child. He was so used to the sky being the end that he couldn't imagine what it could be like for a sky to be more than a ceiling. What he did understand was that birds outside could fly forever unlike inside the walls where they eventually bumped in the screen. Eren had seen them do so a few times and for reasons unknown he had felt a pang in his chest as it happened.

* * *

Nearing the end of the hot season, Mr. Arlert suggested they go on a field trip. The brown haired boy had been very excited at the prospect of visiting the woods for the first time. He had asked his mother for permission, ready to plead if he had to do. As it turned out, Carla was all too happy to let him go with the Arlerts.

The woman was an old friend of old Mr. Arlert's as he was a regular patient of her husband and a good friend to the Jaeger couple. She had loved Armin the moment she set eyes on him and regarded his friendship with her Eren as the best thing that could have happened. Therefore she saw no reason to refuse and even offered to pack lunch for the three adventurers.

When the day of the excursion finally arrived, Eren took the bag of food his mother had prepared and set off to meet the Arlerts. He set off to the meeting point, which was located in the easternmost part of the town. He got there early and sat on the roadside to wait. He lifted his head upwards to look at 'sky', which despite being fake was still very pretty. After a while, a black bird flew by as close to the ceiling as he could possibly get. He wasn't very fast, but there were strength in the way his wings beat and it made him look majestic somehow. The bird swooped down and disappeared from sigh, leaving the boy awed.

He was still smiling when Armin and his grandfather joined him.

Throughout the morning, the two boys got to discover the forest and its inhabitants. Mr. Arlert taught them the differences between trees and how to recognize them by the shape of their leaves. They found a lot of plants they had never seen before and the old teacher names each of them sometimes telling how they could be used for medication or to make colours. They got to see a few animals as well. A pair of rabbits crossed the forest path at top speed in front of them. The two boys were amazed by the white herbivores and tried running after them to no avail. The incident made Armin's grandfather laugh good-naturedly and when the boys came back to him, he guided them deeper in the woods.

They were lucky to find some animal prints along the way. Eren and Armin thus learned how animals had different patterns on their paws and how one could tell a bunch of different things from footprints.

It turned out that Eren was the one who found it easier to tell trees and plants apart. He also seemed to have a natural talent for following tracks and even managed to find a group of squirrels who ran back up the trees as soon as they saw them. Armin found it harder and soon conceded defeat.

When their stomachs started complaining they settled in a clearing and took out the food packed by Carla. The meal was mostly silent as they were all intent on eating the delicious sandwiches made by Eren's mother.

Once they were done eating, Mr. Arlert told them he was going to rest for a little and that they should go and explore some more before going back in town.

The two boys were quite happy with the suggestion and lost no time in leaving the clearing. They walked with no real destination, careful to remember which way they came from.

They had been walking for approximately half an hour when the trees started becoming rarer. A few minutes later they stepped out of the forest and found themselves on top of a hill.

Below was a city that Eren had never seen before. Even from a distance he could tell that it was dirty and dark unlike Shiganshina. He couldn't see many people. Despite the dark atmosphere surrounding the place, Eren felt attracted to it. It was mysterious, it was unknown and he wanted to go there. The dark streets and cloaked figures he could vaguely see called to him with a force he would never have expected.

"Hey, what do you think this place is?" he asked his friend softly, as if afraid to disturb the gloomy silence.

Hearing no answer he turned around only to see Armin's anxious expression visible desire to get away from the place.

"This is Oz. My grandfather told me a little about it." said the blonde in a hushed voice.

"Oz?"

Armin nodded.

"It's real name is Outlaw Zone but people just call it Oz. It's a place where laws don't apply." he looked around fearfully. "It's a place for criminals." he finished in a whisper.

"Oz." repeated Eren eyes shining with curiosity as he looked back to the dark city.

"Come on, Eren. We shouldn't be here and Grandpa will be waiting for us."

The blue eyed blonde grabbed his best friend's arm and dragged him back into the forest. The taller boy let himself be pulled away but gave one last glance at Oz before leaving.


	5. Into the Darkness - part 1

_"__I'm __moving__.__"_

_The brunette gazed away from the water to look at his blonde friend sitting next to him by the canal._

"_What do you mean?" he asked his dark green eyes showing his worry._

_The blue eyed child grimaced._

"_Mom found a job but it's in the middle floor." explained the blonde. "She doesn't want to impose on Grandpa so she's taking me with her."_

_The blonde's gaze was avoiding his own and the brunette soon went back to silently staring at the shallow water. Billions of thoughts were racing in the boy's head but he couldn't bring himself to formulate any of them. The silence was becoming heavy. He opened his mouth, hesitated still._

"_So…so…When are you leaving?" he ended up asking._

_The blonde's shoulders sank._

"_Tomorrow." he replied in a whisper._

_He didn't need to look to know that the green eyes were looking at him, horrified._

_It was too soon. It would always be too soon._

* * *

As usual Eren sat by the canal. Unusually, he was alone. Armin had left the previous day. In the morning he had gotten up early to say his goodbyes. He had done his best to be cheerful when sending Armin off. His best friend had been devastated, of course, but at least Eren's smile had given him some confidence. They had promised to see each other again. They wouldn't be able to keep in touch because paper was expensive but Armin would come to visit.

As soon as Armin and his mother had left, Eren's smile had disappeared. With his friend gone he felt like he had gone back to step one. It would be like two years ago all over again. He would be all alone with other children making fun of him. He felt empty.

So here he was, alone by the canal, sitting in his and Armin's favourite spot, reminiscing about their two year long friendship. In those two years he had mastered reading and the basics of calculation. He had learned a lot about humanity's history, as well, which was by far his favourite. Mr. Arlert had brought him and Armin into the forest a few more times, teaching all he knew about it. Eren had even learned first aid from his father and he prided himself in being very good at bandaging. Not that he made use of that particular skill but he felt confident that it would come in handy in the future. After all, accidents happened all the time.

All in all, it had been two very enjoyable years.

Unfortunately that time was gone. Now he would have to cope with being alone.

Absent-mindedly he picked up a pebble and threw in the water. Out of habit he watched it sink before looking up at the sky. It was as blue, with a few clouds here and there, as it had been the day before and the day before that. In fact it had been like that during the entirety of the hot season apart from the days where they had scheduled rain.

He sighed and got up to his feet. He stood unmoving for a moment trying to decide where to go.

A memory suddenly flashed before his eyes. A dark city with a gloomy atmosphere, Oz. He had secretly gone back to sneak peeks at it ever since the day he had first stumbled upon it with Armin. He never told Armin or anyone else for that matter about those excursions. The blonde wouldn't have approved and might even have told one of the adults. As much as Armin was a very trustworthy friend, he was also someone who put safety above anything else. It wasn't that he would betray Eren's trust it was just that he would what he thought was best for his turquoise eyed friend.

Of course, Eren wasn't stupid. He knew he could get in a lot of trouble by going to watch Oz. And not just with his mother. No. Oz was a city where all sorts of criminals had settled. They were so numerous that the Military Police didn't dare raid it anymore. In fact, it was infamous in all three Sisters for being the most dangerous place inside the walls. It was the centre of illegal activities in humanity's stronghold.

For a childlike Eren it was especially dangerous. In a moment he could be kidnapped and sold as a slave or prostitute to some rich noble from Sina or simply killed for the clothes he was wearing.

Eren knew all that but couldn't help but be attracted to the ruthless city. Whenever he got close to it, his heart would beat faster, his blood would boil and he would feel a thrill he could only feel near Oz. He had become addicted to that feeling, that pure excitement which made him feel like he could do anything. In the back of his mind, Eren knew that this feeling too was dangerous. But most of the time, he conveniently ignored that little voice.

The closer he got to the edge of Shiganshina, the faster he walked. When he finally reached the last house he started running. He wasn't afraid that anyone would report him to his mother as Carla had given him a formal authorization to go into the forest on his own. The brunette's mother knew her boy and she had heard from Armin's grandfather that Eren was entirely capable of taking care of himself. Especially since he had come to know the woods as well as he knew the streets of Shiganshina.

In a matter of minutes he had passed the first trees and was racing in the forest. He was fast on his legs. He had grown quite a bit and longer legs did help, but above all he had gotten a lot of training. He had a knack of running into trouble and had had to fight and run away a lot. He specialized in the hit-and-run strategy. Basically he would distract his opponent by hitting him, and then while the person was in shock from the hit, he would run away as fast as possible. After some time he had become so fast that nobody could catch up to him.

His pulse accelerated as he reached the hill overseeing the Outlaw Zone. He slowed down and walked right up to the top of the hill. He watched the city below with sparkling blue eyes. It was as obscure and eerily silent as he remembered.

The brunette felt a tug in his chest. He WANTED to go there; every fibre of his being was urging him to move forward. However a part of his mind recalled his mother's warnings and Armin's words.

"_It is a place of great evil, Eren, you must never get close to it."_

"_It's a place for criminals. We shouldn't be here."_

"_Entering the Outlaw Zone is the same as selling your soul to the Devil! Once it is done you can never go back."_

"_It's a bad place Eren, children like us would get sold or killed…"_

"_Eren, you must promise Mother that you will NEVER, ever go to that place!"_

_Sorry Mom_, thought Eren as he took his first step down the hill, _I would rather sell my soul to the devil than live like livestock_.

* * *

As he neared the first buildings he made himself as small and insignificant as possible. He had done so many times before in Shiganshina that it was almost second nature, but his heart had never beaten so fast. When he reached the streets he was feeling exhilarated and it took everything he had to stop himself from laughing. He couldn't help the wide grin spreading on his face though.

As it was the first day he went, Eren didn't dare go too far in the city. He wouldn't admit it to himself but he felt quite impressed by the state deterioration the buildings were in. He sneaked up to a dark corner and sat there so as to observe.

The first thing that struck him was that even when there were a lot of people in the street, it still seemed deserted. People clad in dark outfits hurried by silently, without so much as glancing in his direction. Sometimes he would be able to see the gleam of a knife, or short sword under the cloaks. Twice, the young boy saw duos of hooded figures whispering secretively in a distant corner or dark alley, the first time exchanging tightly wrapped packets of God-Knew-What. Eren instantly decide that he didn't want to know and that it was better to keep his distance with such people.

After an hour or so, sitting in his hiding place, Eren decided to explore a bit further. He got up and slipped away, keeping in the shadows. As he moved around the narrow streets, he realized that, if there were a few shady individuals here and there, there weren't a lot of people. At least not a lot compared to what one would expect from the centre of illegal activities of the Three Sisters.

The brunette stopped in a dark corner and frowned. From what Armin had told him, Oz was an overpopulated city. There was even a black market there. Yet, he could see no trace of gathering and had met just enough people for him to know that the city wasn't deserted.

A glance at the darkening sky told him that it was too late to solve the mystery. He slipped out of the corner and hurried away towards the hill. He was smiling as he left Oz and his turquoise eyes shone with determination. It didn't matter that he hadn't solved the puzzle yet, he still had tomorrow and the day after as well. In fact, he had all the time in the world.


	6. Into the Darkness - part 2

Turquoise eyes peeked from behind a thick stone wall. The brunette's gaze darted from side to side before he allowed himself to approach the dark entrance. He silently walked closer to the staircases which descended under the city and carefully looked inside. A smile graced his features. He had finally found it.

It had been two weeks since he started exploring Oz. Ever since his first day in the half-ruined city he had been looking for its secret. The reason why there weren't that many people roaming the streets and why there never were any trace of a black market. It had taken him a whole week to get to know the entire city. But at the end of the seventh day he had seen every street there was to see and discovered all the good hiding places. This had been quite useful to him during the second week. If he had managed to avoid trouble most of the time, he had had to run away from shady individuals a few times. He had always succeeded in escaping though, so there hadn't been any harm done.

When he had gotten back home after the first time he had had to flee from a dangerous-looking man, he had thought of stealing a knife from the kitchen to carry around in case he got in some serious trouble. He had thought long and hard and had finally decided against it. The main reason being that his mother had but a few knives and if one were to go missing she would notice immediately. As his father was away at the moment, it would easy to determine who the culprit was and there would be questions asked. Questions he couldn't answer, unless he was prepared to be kept at home his entire life, which he wasn't.

So he remained weaponless, his last thought on the matter being that if he was careful enough he wouldn't need a weapon anyway.

His second week had started with this new resolve in mind. Being accustomed to the streets, he had no trouble finding his way around. The only trouble was that he had no idea where to look. For obvious reasons he couldn't ask anyone either. He had to find the answer by himself and while he enjoyed the challenge, the first few days being infructuous frustrated him. It was in the second half of the week that he had an idea.

He could simply watch the cloaked figures, follow them if needed and find out where they went.

Thus he enacted his plan, discreetly following people. His first targets brought him no answers but after a while he got lucky.

He had been following a bald man with an intimidating scar running across his face. Eren had kept his distance not wanting to be caught by the scary-looking man. After about ten minutes, the man turned at a corner. This particular street, Eren knew, was dead end, so the boy was rather puzzled when after a few minutes of waiting for the man to reappear he saw nothing. Carefully he had made his way to the narrow street and sneaked a peek.

All that he had seen was an empty street. He had walked in, examining every nook and cranny. At the time he hadn't paid any attention to the beat up door behind which was a stone staircase. He had thought it led to a basement.

Finding no answer, he had left the mystery unsolved.

He started having his suspicions when the same day a cloaked figure went in yet another dead end and disappeared like the first man. The third time Eren's target turned into a blind alley he was prepared. He rushed forward and got there just in time to see the woman opening a door and going down a stone staircase.

After that, Eren had gone back to the two other places where he had seen people disappear and had checked for similar staircases. He had found them, of course. He had spent the following day exploring all dead ends he knew of and checking which ones had the passages.

And today, was the day he went down the stairs and solved the secret of Oz.

* * *

With excitement rushing through him, Eren took the first step down the passage. It was cold and dark and he shivered a little bit. Because of the cold of course, he wasn't afraid of the dark. At least that was what his nervous mind repeated to itself all the way down.

At long last he got to the bottom of the stairs. He found himself in a cave-like place. It was eerily silent and just as dark as the staircase had been. Summoning all the courage he held in his small body, he started walking towards the other side of the room, where he could faintly see light. His steps echoed in the emptiness and unsettled him. He gulped and walked the remaining distance separating him from the light.

The passage curved and opened on a new set of stairs except this time it wasn't dark or silent. As he gazed at the bustling city, Eren instantly knew that this was the real Oz. It wasn't the gloomy ruin but this bright and animated city, where puddles of blood and beggars could be found every few steps. The streets were crowded and fights erupted here and there.

He realized that this city must be built underneath the one he had been exploring, which explained why he hadn't seen so many people before. As the thought hit him, he looked up to the ceiling, wondering where the light came from. It turned out that holes had been pierced all over the ceiling and in the distance light poured from a gigantic crack in the ceiling. The smaller holes were probably the many wells that he had seen in the ruined city above. As for the crack, it was quite mysterious…

Unless this place was actually a lot farther from the city he had seen. If the underground city was located a little more to the West than the ruin then the crack could be on the side of the city that Eren had never seen. After all he had never gone further than the last houses in the Western part of the ruin. Satisfied with the answer, he brought his gaze back to the busy streets. He grinned to himself and hurried down the three steps separating him from the streets.

* * *

It turned out that the black market was the safest place in Oz. It was by far the busiest and the only place where you could find people who were a little decent. Indeed some of those who visited the market were simply too poor to buy things at the legal price and were not altogether bad people. Also only legal products were sold at the black market, they were simply sold cheaper than the legal price.

The truly illegal businesses took place in a different part of Oz, where whores filled the streets and drug addicts were passed out on the floor. Not a place Eren was prepared to explore anytime soon.

Eren felt rather proud of himself when he realized that his speed was on par with that of the thieves which gathered in the market and targeted the customers and merchants. Those were mostly children sometimes smaller than Eren, dirty and wearing rags. It was looking at those children that Eren realized that he was privileged despite his family being quite poor. At least he still had a family to talk about. These children clearly didn't.

He went to hang out in Oz every day. Sometimes he just observed but other times he purposefully got into fights, mostly with other children. He steered clear of fights he knew he couldn't win though, fleeing whenever the situation became dangerous. He might be hot-headed but he did have a certain survival instinct.

Everytime he climbed back up the stairs and went back to Shiganshina he felt like he became another person. He wasn't the brash, rebellious and violent kid he was in Oz, he was a silent lonely child who behaved well and didn't cause trouble for his mother. Sometimes he wondered if he was actually two very different people. Though he always came to the conclusion that there was only one Eren, the other was simply a mask he wore.


	7. Into the Darkness - part 3

**As I've been exploiting my good friend AriSophAlmah and forcing her to read my chapters, I re-wrote chapter 1, so you might want to check it out. It's hopefully better than the first version, and I'd like your opinion on it.**

**Now after this episode of Ari's life, here comes the next chapter which is apparently not as bad as I think it is.**

* * *

It was the first day of the rainy season when Eren first met him. As far as he had been concerned it had been a normal day. He had left Shiganshina in the morning, setting off for Oz as soon as he decently could. He had spent his morning in the more peaceful parts of the city, eaten the sandwich his mother had made for his lunch and gone to hang out near the black market. In short just a regular day in Oz.

Anyway, he had been sitting on a doorstep in the middle of the street where the market took place, lazily looking at the crowd and keeping his ears open just in case. An hour passed by without anything remotely interesting happening. That was, if you didn't count a murder as something interesting. Then again murders happened every day in Oz. The one Eren had just witnessed wasn't anything extraordinary. A fight had broken out between two shoppers, daggers had been unsheathed and one of them had ended up stuck in a chest.

The whole affair had only attracted a few bored looks but no one tried to stop the two men from fighting. Once the deed was done, the surviving fighter left with a disgusted look to the body, which was promptly dragged off by cloaked figures. Eren didn't even want to know what they did with the corpses.

It had all been over in twenty minutes and business had gone on as if nothing had ever happen.

Starting to get bored, Eren looked up. It was more out of habit than out of desire to see the sky since all he could see was the rock ceiling. Just as his blue gaze settled on the stone surface a figure dashed overhead. The turquoise eyes widened in shock and he hurriedly turned to follow the movements. It was a man, wearing a dark brown cape and metal boxes hanging on either side of his waist. Eren recognized the gear as the one used by the Military Police and the Garrison. Twin steel cables shot out of the man's gear and he continued rushing forward. To the child's eyes it looked as if the he was flying.

When the man disappeared behind buildings, Eren hastily closed his eyes to engrave his features in his memory. Pale skin, delicate features, black hair styled in an undercut. The brunette re-opened his eyes and gazed at the place where the man had disappeared. The scene replayed in his eyes endlessly and he could hardly believe what he had seen. A man had flown. Appearing freer than any bird Eren had ever laid eyes on. As he got to his feet, stumbling a little as he did, the boy could feel admiration and longing gripping his heart, until it was all he could think about.

_If it's him, it's possible. He could free himself from these cages._

* * *

From that day on, Eren started roaming the streets of Oz in search of that man. It wasn't that he particularly wanted to talk to him or join him, he simply hoped to see him, even a glimpse of the man's short dark hair would be enough. But he wanted to see that man again, the one he had come to think as the incarnation of freedom.

The brunette had not given much thought to what he would do or say when he finally found the man. In fact, he didn't really think he would ever find him. He felt like he was chasing a dream, he was looking without any hope of being successful.

The boy was so busy thinking about the raven haired man that he didn't notice the three men closing in on him.

"Hey kid." drawled the first man.

Eren snapped out of his musings. His eyes darted back and forth trying to find an escape route.

He had messed up. He had caught the attention of people who would not hesitate to kidnap a child to sell him into slavery. Or maybe they were going to kill him, maybe rape him before that if they were into that kind of thing…

Honestly, he should have known better than to walk aimlessly with a dazed look on his face.

"Won't you come with us quietly?" asked another of the trio. "It would be a pity to damage that pretty face of yours."

The brunette clenched his teeth, glaring turquoise daggers at the man in front of him, which only served to make said man laugh.

The trio was slowly advancing on him, not letting him any occasion to escape. When the first man grabbed Eren's arm, the boy viciously bit him, using the momentum to try to get passed him. He didn't go very far as the second man grabbed him by the collar, throwing him angrily to the ground.

"What the fuck do you think you're doing?" he yelled, eyes blazing in fury.

Eren didn't reply. Ignoring the pain in his limbs, he crawled backwards, putting as much distance as he could between him and the three men. He knew he wouldn't get very far, but at least now he had a global view of the situation. Not that it would help him if he couldn't even move.

His helplessness angered him, causing his eyes to blaze golden. The men didn't take any notice and advanced on the fallen boy. At this point Eren could do nothing but scowl and glare, while waiting for the fateful moment. So he did.

Except the fateful moment never came. One second, a hand was approaching him, the next the man was sent flying by a powerful kick.

It was as if he was watching a dream unraveling in front of him, as the now turquoise eyes watched the trio be mercilessly beaten up by none other than the raven haired man whom he had been looking for in the first place. It seemed to last an eternity to Eren as he brain had virtually stopped functioning. In fact, it was a matter of seconds before the men were lying on the floor unconscious.

"Shut your trap, brat, you look stupid." said the raven haired man harshly.

Eren realized he had been gaping and hastily shut his mouth, blushing slightly.

Still unable to formulate a word, he gazed at his savior. He was younger than he had first thought. He wasn't so much of a man as a teenager. He was also shorter than Eren would ever have imagined. Cold gray eyes met turquoise and Eren gulped. This guy, was strong. Strong and scary.

"Oy, can't you talk?" snapped the raven haired man.

Eren blinked in surprise.

"A-Ah…Yes, I can." he said quickly. "Er…what's your name?"

The boy looked at him strangely.

"Brat, why the hell should I tell you my name?"

"Er…right."

Damn that guy was a tough nut, not only was he rude he was also well-guarded.

"Um…Thanks for helping me." said Eren at last, feeing like it was the first sensible thing he had said in front of the raven.

"Tch. Shitty Brat."

The boy turned away and started walking off but was stopped by Eren grabbing his sleeve.

"Wait." the boy's eyes were flashing turquoise, as he spoke. "My name is Eren, not 'Brat' and not 'Shitty Brat'."

The man looked back at him expressionless, save for a flash in his eyes of…amusement?

"Whatever, Brat." he said, snatching his sleeve away from the boy's grasp and marching off.

"It's Eren!" called the brunette after him.

Unknown to him, the raven's lips quirked upwards.


	8. Days of light - part 1

**A gigantic thank you to ****GhostRin****! It really means a lot to me that you reviewed this story ****read**** my Harry Potter fic as well!**

* * *

Isabelle Magnolia was in no way reckless. Really, she wasn't. It was just that, by odd and generally unexpected twists of fate, she found herself plunging head first into tricky situations.

For example, when she had set out that morning to earn a living she hadn't planned to steal from a group of beefy, tough-looking guys who looked like they murdered children every day. Which they probably did. She wouldn't be surprised if they had a habit of killing babes in their cradles. When you lived in Oz you got to encounter all kind of people. Shady people that was, with strange interests and hobbies.

Anyway, she really hadn't meant to take their money. It just happened. One moment she caught sight of the fat pouch dangling from a belt. The next, the pouch was in her pocket and she was trapped against the wall by four nasty looking individuals. Now, she would be the first to admit that her tendency to land herself into danger without meaning to was risky, not to mention annoying; especially after she had first received her elder brother's 'firm talking-to' which involved a good fifteen minutes of being lectured and a few blows that really hurt. The longest fifteen minutes of her life.

Needless to say she was seriously reflecting on her actions; her eyes darting around frantically looking for an escape route, all the while. Unfortunately for the red haired girl, the four men were effectively blocking her way. She shrunk under their gaze which only served to make them laugh.

They wanted their money back. Of course they did. But she couldn't hand over the pouch. For one thing she wouldn't get away with it even if she gave them the purse back. Secondly she needed the money. They needed it. There was enough in the leather pouch to buy dinner for the day and breakfast for the following morning. It would still be meager meals but it was better than starving. Admittedly, her big brother would never let them starve. He always found food for them one way or another. But it was hardly fair to always rely on him. They couldn't expect him to feed them all on his own.

No. She couldn't, wouldn't give the money back.

She tried not to shiver when one of them suggested they had some 'fun' with her. The man's comrades seemed to think it was a great idea and they started closing in on her.

She squeezed her eyes shut, refusing to watch the hands that were reaching for her. She was starting to regret her stubbornness, just a bit. She might live in a cut-throat and have been trained by her brother to fight but she was still first and foremost a fragile girl. Despite her brother's efforts she was still not that strong, and certainly not skilled enough to take on four of these guys and get away alive.

Not that it helped that the alternative was losing her virginity after she had managed to keep it for that long. Being a virgin in Oz was near impossible and Isabelle prided herself in never having been forced into anything up until now. Well, she guessed she wouldn't be able to be proud of it for much longer.

"Brother? What are you doing?" asked a childish voice she didn't recognize.

Her eyes flew open and widened as she gazed at the small brown haired boy standing a few meters away. He had the most beautiful blue eyes she had ever seen; even more beautiful than her own green eyes.

"You said you'd be quick but I've been waiting reeeeeeaaaaally long you know!" continued the kid making wide gestures with his arms and ending with a pout, his blue gaze fixed on hers all the while.

Isabelle was speechless. Was this boy…talking to her? Or rather who the hell was he? She was sure she had never seen him before. Surely she would have remembered such eyes. Also, for some reason he looked different from the other kids who lived in the underground city. His clothes were a bit too clean, his hair too neatly brushed.

"Brother?" enquired the boy, tilting his head to the side, seemingly confused. "Aren't we going?"

Her first thought was that he was probably talking to one of her attackers but that would be odd seeing as he had been looking at her the whole time. Maybe he had somehow mistaken her for someone else…? She glanced at the four men taking in their frozen stances and stunned expressions. Definitely not someone they knew.

A tiny hand wrapped around hers and started pulling her away.

"Come on, let's go." insisted the child pulling her after him.

They had only walked a few steps when the attackers woke from their daze.

"Don't think you'll get away you brats!" roared a scarred man.

"Tch!"

Isabelle looked down at her companion with surprise. Had he just clicked his tongue? There was no way, right? This kid was just an innocent boy…

She was literally dragged out of her thoughts as the boy bolted off, forcing her to keep up with him. She remained tongue-tied as the boy dashed through the streets at an insanely fast pace. Despite their speed, the quartet was still hot on their heels.

Hearing their panting and groaning lifted Isabelle's spirits and she couldn't help smirking at them. Those filthy pigs would never catch up to them in this state.

"Damn." muttered the boy as he came to an abrupt halt.

The sudden stop caused the young girl to stumble. She looked at him with annoyance.

"What?" she snapped unnerved by the approaching thugs.

"I took a wrong turn." said the boy. "This is a dead end."

"WHAT?!"

She looked up disbelievingly. The street indeed ended in front of a tall, dark building.

The sound of hurried footsteps and triumphant laughter made her face the other way.

"Brats!" hissed the meanest looking guy.

He stopped after the one word and Isabelle had to wonder if it was because he didn't have enough breath left.

"It's a pity we're not into boys," started his scarred companions, a dangerous glint in his eyes. "but we can still give you a good beating."

The man's word echoed in Isabelle's brain. What did he mean exactly by: "not into boys"? She realized he was talking about her as well and she was highly disturbed. She knew she wasn't the most feminine girl around but still!

"I'm a girl!" she snapped angrily. "Surely you can see that?"

"You idiot." muttered the boy whose hand she was still holding.

The comment made her remember his earlier words. Of course, it was all because he had called her 'brother'! It was all his fault! No, wait…did he think she was a guy?

"You, you realize I'm a girl, right?" she asked the brunette, fearing the answer.

The boy shot her an aggravated look.

"Are you a complete idiot?" he asked. "Or is it that you actually want to get raped?"

"Don't be ridiculous!" she yelled. "And who do you think you're calling a tomboy?!"

"Who do you think, stupid woman?!" shouted back the kid.

"SHUT THE FUCK UP!" roared meanest-looking-guy, having finally regained his breath. "Forget about having fun, I'll just kill you both."

The two children took a step back and gulped audibly.

The next moment happened in a blur. Meanest-looking-guy had taken out a knife and was advancing towards them. Next thing they knew, their attackers were sprawled on the ground and a familiar raven-haired boy was standing in front of the two kids.

Slowly the young man turned to look at them. Silver eyes passed briefly on the girl's figure before stopping on the blue eyed boy.

"You sure like to get into trouble, brat."


End file.
